Noel's spring choir concert was on Wednesday. The performance lasted about 45 minutes and she got nice solo part in "God Help The Outcast" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Mrs. Kutcher is both Noel's American History teacher and her choir teacher.
We celebrated Drew and Holly's birthday with the Allred side of the family last night at Genghis Khan Mongolian BBQ.
Jeff started coming here 30 years ago with his family. Now it's a family favorite of ours - looks like Grams Allred was enjoying it too!
Cousins - Holly and Heather - can you see the resemblance?
Our friend, Drago, gave Drew some great cologne.
Afterward, we drove across the street to Frostings for cupcakes. It is a new shop on El Toro in Lake Forest and has delicious cupcakes!
All the cousins had fun playing tag outside and running around.
And there's Grams at it again! She couldn't wait to dig into that coconut cupcake!
We went by train to San Diego for the weekend to celebrate Holly's 18th birthday. This gift was so huge, she opened it in the car a day early so we wouldn't have to take it with us!
The kids loved the train! It was very peaceful and no traffic! Then we took the trolley to the Marriott Hotel.
We had a beautiful view of the bay from our rooms.
We went to Morton's for dinner that night and Holly got lobster!
We opened gifts the next morning on Holly's 18th birthday!
The kids took turns on dad's back and shoulders doing all sorts of fun stunts in the pool a little later.
We walked all around Seaport Village and then some of us went to the Gas Lamp District to shop and some went to Belmont Park to ride the roller coaster. Drew went to see Elder L. Tom Perry speak in Vista.
We met up again for Asian Fusion which was Holly's dinner request.
While Jeff and Luke swam, the girls and I rented these fun bikes and went along the boardwalk by Seaport Village.
We rode over to the Midway Aircraft Carrier. It is HUGE!!! We didn't even make it to Old Town or the Mormon Battalion. We are just going to have to take another weekend getaway to cover more territory - we loved San Diego!
Our puppies were all ready for the big day!
When the kids came down for breakfast, Drew saw some gold dust left by the leprechauns. Shera followed it and found a pot of gold in the freezer!
Shera, Luke, and Noel were all decked out for the day. Shera and Luke even sprayed their hair green!
Luke found some chocolate gold after school by following another trail of leprechaun gold dust.
We had a traditional dinner of corned beef, cabbage, red potatoes, and green dinner rolls. Later, we watched "Darby O'Gill and the Little People".
We had a fun family night last Monday and celebrated St. Patty's Day early.
Holly made popovers and we had green beans and Irish meatballs with green mashed potatoes too!
The new way to teach a lesson is with the laptop! Drew talked about who St. Patrick was and how he helped the Irish gain religious freedom.
Then we sang and danced to our favorite Irish jig,
Instead of "Duck Duck Goose" we played "Blarney Blarney Stone".
Shera made up a "Shamrock 3 Wishes List" for us. I wished that I could eat anything and not gain weight, that I could stay awake all the time and never need sleep and still not get sick, and that my dad and our old dog, Tawny, could come back to us and be healthy. I was a terrible example and very selfish with my wishes. Our kid's wishes, on the other hand, were more selfless and loving to each other - wishing for Holly's jaw to heal, Drew to get back on his mission, and world peace!
For dessert, Holly made green cupcakes! Yummo!
I was on the cruise when Drew's birthday came - but Jeff took good care of him. They had steak that night and the next night they went to Shogun's for Japanese Tepan! Our family loves it! Then he forgot where I hid the gifts, so Jeff wrapped up a bunch of little gifts and put in rolled up small bills in each of them. Drew loved it!
Sunday, when I came home, we opened up the rest of Drew's real gifts. He got this really cool picture of Moroni for his room.
And Drew also got his new favorite games - Catan's Cities and Knights and Catan's Seafarer's. He and his friends are hooked!
They made Drew a lemon birthday cake. Jeff got these fireworks sparklers to put in our cakes a few years ago. They are always fun to add to the regular candles, but you have to shoot them out to the side because of the ashes! Ha! Ha!
My best friend, Barb Hehl, and I went on a Mexican cruise last week - just us two!!!
Snorkeling in Cabo...
The view of Los Arcos from our balcony as we left the bay...
Mexican in Mazatlan...
Shopping for jewelry for our daughters...
Zip lining in Puerto Vallarta... (Don't Laugh!)
But our main reason of going was for the scrapbook tour we signed up for...
Holly modeled in our church's fashion show Saturday along with other girls who want to promote stylish modest fashions. Everything was so cute and modest!
An article about the show and some photos were in put in the online Meridian Magazine. Two photos of Holly appear in the article. Here is the address to see it:
Luke has been trying to get his front tooth out for so long now - we weren't sure if it ever would go! He is just like his dad - he is almost 8 years old and had only lost 2 teeth so far. Jeff says this is a good sign and that he has strong, healthy teeth. So, for lunch on Saturday, I picked up Subway sandwiches and as we were all together eating them, he yells out with his mouth full, "My tooth came out!" He found it in the sandwich and here's the proof!
One of my favorite things to do on Tuesdays and Fridays is go to Pilates. The first time I went, Luke was just a little baby and my body was sooo wasted after having five kids. I thought I'd just give it a try - people were talking about pilates and I wanted to see what it was all about. I was a walk in - and I had a complimentary lesson by Viktor. I was in such bad shape, he admitted to me later that he thought I'd never return.
I'm still coming and I love it! (Even though I complain through most of my session! I love to tease!) Kelly, Viktor, and Mahlia are the BEST instructors ever!
No joking - he pulled it through the slots and became a little "Chewbacca"!
Five years ago today, my dad passed away.
I love when Jeff decides to take the kids out and do a fun night with them! They love to spend time with him and he always is creative and entertaining. Last Saturday, he was antsy to get out after being all cooped up with the kids all day inside because of the rain. So at 7:30 at night he announced that he was going to Balboa and asked who wanted to come? Luke, Shera, and Noel all yelled in unison that they'd like to. Holly was at Disneyland all day and Drew was out with his friends to dinner already, so I was all for them just taking off! It poured in the car as they drove to Balboa, but stopped just in time as they got to the ferry. They walked around the boardwalk (I made sure they all wore coats) and they went into the couple of little shops that were open even with the bad weather. Then they all went to The Spaghetti Factory and ate a yummy pasta dinner! I got some alone time and he even took the camera! What a guy!!! A great night to be out and about!!!
